


Episode 10: Topeka, Kansas

by DangersUntoldHardshipsUnnumbered



Series: The Canyon's Arms Are All We Know [10]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 16:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19154551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangersUntoldHardshipsUnnumbered/pseuds/DangersUntoldHardshipsUnnumbered
Summary: Alex and Astra manage to plan a second date.





	Episode 10: Topeka, Kansas

Astra found herself a parks campground near Lake Gundersen, about twenty minutes outside of Metropolis. She settled in and got to the business of watering her plants. She apologized to them for dragging them all over the country, and gently stroked their leaves, explaining that she was doing something very important and that soon they would settle down again.

After that, she made herself an omelet and some coffee and thought again about her encounter with Lois Lane. On reflection she decided that it made sense that Kal-El would appreciate a woman who was so ready to take up arms in his defense, despite his not really needing her to do so.She was mature and objectively somewhat attractive. Yes, she decided. A man might appreciate that kind of toughness and loyalty. Although Kal had no particular need of her approval, Astra thought she approved of his choice of Lois Lane.

What of Alex, she wondered. Would Alex be similarly inclined? Astra did not anticipate needing to ever deal with that sort of trouble, but if it came to that, would Alex take up arms for her? It was difficult not to wonder.

But she had bullet wounds. Of course she would. There was more to her than what she had presented. Astra didn’t fault her for it, of course.

After a little more time with her plants, she laid down on her narrow bunk, wondering when she would hear from someone. She closed her eyes and breathed in the scent that still lingered on the sheets where she and Alex had shared themselves. Her touch had been so soft. The memory of it made her ache. 

She was considering whether to do anything about that ache or not when a jingling erupted loudly from her back pocket.For half a moment, she was bewildered, but then she remembered. She had a phone. She took it out, and after half a second of fumbling to flip it open, she answered it.

“Yes.”

“That you, Angie?”

It was Clementine. Astra’s heart sped up. “Yes, of course. Hello, Clem.”

“Well, I just thought you’d want to know, your Alex came in here not too long ago, looking like a crazy woman.I see why you like her.She’s cute. Spunky, too.”

Astra didn’t know what to say. “And?”

“Well, I didn’t want to just give your number out in case you changed your mind or something, but I got hers. D’you want it?”

“How did she find you?”

Clem sighed expansively. “Oh, I don’t know, sounds like she was just real smart and did some asking around.”An awkward pause followed. “So? Do you want her number?”

“Yes! Please!” Astra exclaimed.

Clementine chuckled. “Alright, alright. Got a pen?”

Astra wrote down the numbers.“Where is she now?”

“Hell if I know. She probably went to find a hotel or something.”

Astra let out a long breath. “Thank you, Clementine.”

“Of course. Well, if you remember to, let me know how y’all make out.”

“I will.”

Astra sat for a moment, staring at the number. It was Alex’s number. She would talk to her again. Alex had come looking for her.Had nearly found her!Astra realized at this moment how terrified she was. She wanted this. But what would it mean? Was it foolish? Was she endangering herself?Did she even care anymore?

Her hands shook and she nearly dropped her little plastic phone as she tapped in the numbers and then pressed “talk.” A shrill little gurgle sounded in her ear as it rang. Her head was pounding.

“Hello?” the voice was urgent, anxious. It was Alex’s voice.

“Alex?”

“Yes?”

A pause followed.Astra closed her eyes. Was she really doing this?

“Astra?”

“Yes.”

A long sigh of relief followed. “Thank god. Thank god.It’s you. Thank god.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t call.”

“I almost didn’t.” Astra’s head was swimming. The language was too clunky to say what she wanted to say, so she just said, “I’m a little afraid.”

“Me too,” Alex said slowly. “Maybe for different reasons than you but then again, maybe not. I just… look, I don’t … what we did? I don’t do that. It’s not … it means something that I felt enough of a connection to just … have that with you.”

“True for me as well,” Astra answered. Her voice was small, and she sat vibrating on the edge of her bunk.

“I just want to see you again.”

“I want to see you again too.”

A long silence followed. Then Astra asked, “And what about after?”

She heard Alex swallow at the other end of the line. “I don’t know about after. But… look, I have another ten days of vacation, right? So, I figure maybe we just spend that time together and see what happens, you know?”

“What if it isn’t what you hope?” Astra was asking herself this more than Alex, even.

“But what if it is? What if we’re passing on something that could be the most right thing we ever get to have, just because of fear?”

Astra squeezed her eyes shut. This was foolishness. Madness. But Alex was so gentle, so giving, had made her feel so safe and cared for… “I should say no…” she whispered.

“Astra…”

“…but I can’t.”

The pause was impossibly pregnant.Alex was waiting for her to do more than just not say no. She was waiting for her to say yes.

“Alex, I want to see you again. Everything about that scares me. But I want to. I want to hold you again and feel your arms around me, and I want us to share ourselves the way we did. I want to know you, and learn you, and let you learn me, and…”She faltered. It was coming out in a flood. “…it’s just you. I just want _you_. I did from the first moment I saw you, and I still do.”

She could hear a joyful relief in Alex’s voice. “Yes. Yes, yes, yes.That’s it. That’s all I want. I want to spend time with you, and see who we are together if we can stop being scared long enough.” Her breath was loud for a moment. “Where are you?”

“Metropolis.”

“What? Why?”

“I’ll tell you the story when I see you.”

“Well… okay.”

“Where are you?”

“Best Western in Cortez.”

“We’re eighteen hours apart,” Astra said, remembering how long her journey had been.

“No,” Alex corrected her, “we’re nine hours apart. We can meet in the middle, in Topeka.”

Astra’s heart was racing. “Yes. Alright.Topeka.Where?”

Alex mumbled, “Hang on,” and there was a moment of silence while she was fiddling with something and then said, “The Evel Knievel Museum.”

“The what?”

“It’s a landmark. It’s one of those places that everyone there knows where it is. It’ll be easy to find.”

“It will be the middle of the night,” Astra said.

“Do you care?”

“No, not really.”

“Good. I’ll see you there?”

“Yes. In nine hours.”

 

 

*****

 

 

Somewhere outside Austin, Astra got another phone call from Clementine.

“Hello, Clementine.”

She seemed anxious. “You talk to Alex?”

“Yes. I am on my way to meet her in Topeka.”

Clementine grunted. “Well, that’s fine. Just be careful. Watch your back. Not too long ago, I had some fella come in here, saying he was law enforcement, showing me a picture of you and asking if I’d seen you.”

Astra’s throat tightened. Who could it have been? If Lois had spoken to Kal-El, he should be calling her, not stalking her through the New Mexico desert. “What did you tell him?”

“Shit, girl, what do I think I told him? I told him I ain’t seen you in months.”

Astra breathed a sigh of relief, but did not ease her white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. “Thank you, Clem. What did he look like?”

“Well, he was a tall drink of water, black hair, clean shave, dark suit, no smile. Looked like a spook to me. You in some trouble, Angie?”

Astra shook her head. Nobody ought to be looking for her here. “I don’t think so, but please let me know if anything else unusual happens.”

“You don’t know what kinda pissed I’m gonna be if I find out you’re an ax murderer,” Clem warned.

“I’m not, I promise.”

Her hands were sweating. Only now did she ease her grip on the wheel.

She had gone to prison because she was trying to do the righteous thing, trying to scare her people into taking action, trying to wake them up and save Krypton before it was too late. She wasn’t some indiscriminate killer.In that much, she had been honest with Clementine. She hadn’t intended to kill, and she had done what she did with a purpose.

However, nobody would ever have accused the jailers of Fort Rozz of running things with a light hand. And their pride would demand tracking her down if it were possible. Hers had been the only pod that had not been blown out of the sky during the mass escape attempt, so even though she had destroyed it after crashing, they could have tracked the signal here.It was possible that they were methodically combing the earth, looking for her.

 

 

*******

 

 

Somewhere outside Des Moines, she stopped and made herself a sandwich and stretched her legs. 

She was still nervous about seeing Alex again.

Now she was nervous about being hunted.

Maybe it was a mistake, going to meet Alex.What if she was dragging her into something she shouldn’t be?If this was Fort Rozz police chasing her, there was no way Alex belonged in the middle of that. Maybe she should call her and tell her to turn around, that it wasn’t safe.

Her phone rang. It was Alex. “Hey. How’s your drive going?”

“Okay. I’m breaking for a little food right now.”

“Same.”

Astra heard music in the background. “Is that Fleetwood Mac?”

Alex chuckled. “Yeah. Seemed to fit the mood.”

“Hm. You love music, don’t you.”

“Yeah.”

“Tell me what other music you love.”

Alex chuckled. “We might be here a while.”

“That’s alright. I’m still eating.”

Alex took a breath.“Well, I love country, folk, folk rock, classic rock, blues, salsa, you know… a little of everything.But as far as favorite artists, well …”And then she ran down a list of names. She got to the end and took a breath, “…and there’s more, I really could go on, but I guess those are some of my favorites.”

“Is it all women?”

“Yeah, mostly,” Alex chuckled. “What can I tell you, I have a preference.”

Listening to just her voice on the phone, she was sure now that Alex was the voice that had been her comfort in those early days.“So, did you…. By any chance did you ever broadcast a radio program?”

Alex choked on something she was drinking. “What?”

“I’m sorry. I thought perhaps–”

“No no, I…I did. Are you telling me… that you heard it?”

“Yes,” Astra sighed. She slumped low in her chair and smiled. “Several months ago, when I first arrived here, I used to hear your broadcast. I was very much alone at that time, and I looked forward to hearing your voice.”

Alex gasped. “No way.”

“Yes.”

Alex whistled. “What the… I didn’t notice a HAM radio setup in your trailer, how did you–?”

Astra didn’t know what that meant, so she simply sidestepped it. “I was able to hear you at that time.”She chuckled softly, amused at Alex’s surprise. “It explains why I felt so comfortable with you. I knew your voice.”

Alex drew a deep breath. “Some things feel like fate, don’t they.”

Astra sighed.“I wish you were here, now.I wish we didn’t have to wait.”

“Mm,” Alex agreed.

But before she could let herself get too much into this soft, romantic mood, Astra saw a shadow pass outside the trailer’s window.It could be nothing, but it reminded her she had reasons to be nervous. “Alex, I need to ask you… what if being with me isn’t the safest thing for you?”

Alex sighed. “It can’t possibly be more dangerous than anything else in my life,” she assured her. “Let’s hit the road. Sooner we do, the sooner we can have our second date.”

“Yes,” Astra agreed.

 

 

*****

 

 

A chill settled over her as she passed the Topeka city limits. She wasn’t sure why. For the first time she could remember since arriving here, she actively wanted an alcoholic drink.

She was able to follow signs to the Evel Knievel Museum. As Alex had suspected, it was very easy to find.She pulled into the empty parking lot. It was after two in the morning.She climbed out of the truck, wiped her hands on her jeans, and looked around.She had made extraordinarily good time.Perhaps she’d jimmy the door on this museum and take a look around before Alex arrived. 

She strode across the parking lot, illuminated by only a couple of tall streetlights, and wandered around the back of the museum.A metal door with a padlock seemed promising.She walked back to the truck, took out her toolbox, and wandered back to the door.After a lot of hacking, and sparks, and probably too much noise, she got the damn thing off, pushed the door open, and wandered inside.

Even in the middle of the night, the lights were on low.She found her way to a room with television screens, clearly security feeds, and located the switch to turn all of the cameras off.Then she wandered out into the main part of the museum, to look at the displays.

She had no idea who Evel Knievel was, but it seemed he was famous for performing feats of daring on a motorcycle and apparently, with a Mack truck.Several of his motorcycles were displayed, along with a number of his outfits. She could almost fit into one of them, she thought, if she were perhaps a little taller.One outfit in particular appealed: it had stars across the chest and a cape. Nothing practical about capes, she thought, but they did make a fine entrance.

She walked around to the back of the glass display case that contained it, trying to figure out if she could get at it without doing any damage. 

“What a strange place to find you,” a voice came from behind her.

It was not a pleasant voice.

She didn’t wait to find out who it was attached to. She simply bolted toward the front door. 

He appeared in front of her before she had gotten halfway to the door.Tall, dressed in black, sunglasses on in the dead of night.

“Hon-Lo,” she whispered in disbelief.

He was the head of the prison guards in Fort Rozz.Again the wishes of the mob, she had left him alive.“I don’t suppose you’re here to thank me for ordering the mob to spare you.”

He gave her a twisted little smirk. “What did you think you were doing, In-Ze?”

“Escaping, obviously.” She had the thought that she needed to play for time. Clearly, he had gotten the speed that came with the yellow sun, and she had no idea what else. “How are you finding the yellow sun?”

“Better than you, I imagine,” he sneered.

She inched to the side, and closer to the nearest of the motorcycles. “Why aren’t I getting any of those powers, Hon-Lo?”

He put his hands on his hips, laughing. “What do you think those medical treatments were for?” he demanded. “Did you think we were torturing you for fun?”

She narrowed her eyes.“Actually, I did.”

“I mean, it _was_ fun, but no. It was gene therapy. To avoid you getting any benefit from atmospheric differences if you happened to land somewhere like this place. I mean, how would we catch someone as wily as you if you had powers, too?”

She ran toward him, crashed into him at top speed, and it suddenly felt as though every bone in her body was going to break.Crashing into him was like plowing face first into concrete.Her head ached.

He chuckled. “I’m afraid not,” he said. 

She struggled to her feet, her head feeling a bit like it was full of wool, and she felt something hot trickling down her temple.She saw a metal post, the kind that was used to hold the velvet rope when the museum was full of patrons during the day.She grabbed it, swung the heavy end at his head, and ran past him.She didn’t wait to see if it hurt him or not. She just had to get to her truck and then maybe, maybe she could get away before Alex got here.She found the door locked, so she put her arm up and went crashing through the glass of the front window.

Her heart was hammering in her chest as she bolted across the blacktop to where her truck sat, trailer in tow, parked underneath a circle of street lamp.She was only three feet from it when she felt the hands wrap around her shoulders and then pick her up off the pavement and hurl her at the side of her trailer. She struck the metal with a deep thud that knocked all the air from her chest.She fell to the blacktop, every bone in her body hurting, her arm burning and scratched, and her head spinning. 

“Look at this wreck,” he snarled, and she wasn’t sure whether he meant her, or the truck.

She spat at him.She tasted blood.Everything hurt, but she still struggled.She was going to drag herself to her feet and fight him, no matter what. She would rather die that way than end up back in Fort Rozz.She worked her way up to her hands and knees.

“Toiling in the dirt, driving this ramshackle mess that burns fossil fuels.You used to be a general, and now you’re nothing but a dirt farmer.”

“You’re not taking me back to Fort Rozz,” she wheezed. 

He stepped closer. “Still trying to get up?” He kicked her in the ribs. It was clearly nothing to him, but she felt as if he might have broken them. She almost sobbed from the pain of it.“Don’t worry, there’s no Fort Rozz to go back to. Since our system failed, the prison was liquidated. And since there is no Krypton and no government, I could let this matter go if I chose. This is entirely a matter of personal pride for me.”

Her head lowered. He would, with his godlike strength, beat her till he grew tired of it, then execute her. There was nothing she could do.

She heard the roaring then, and the shattering of glass. She picked up her head and saw the front of the museum burst open, Evel Kneivel’s Mack truck come thundering out of it, and saw it come bearing down on Hon-Lo before he could speak. He had been so busy monologuing, he hadn’t noticed what was going on behind him.The front of the Mack truck wrapped itself around him and then pushed him down into the blacktop.

The door of the cab swung open, and Alex jumped out.

Astra stared groggily at her.“Accounting cop, huh?”

“Farmer, eh?” Alex panted.“Come on, my bike is parked around back. We have about ten seconds to get the hell out of here.”

 


End file.
